Under Pressure
by sylversmith
Summary: Temari's absolutely ready to nail her interview at Konoha Incorporated. Now, she just has to make it up to the 11th floor without murdering the obnoxious man in the elevator. Cover art made by the incredibly talented Loknnica!


"Wait! Hold the door! I'm almost there!" Temari lunged forward just at the last moment, no small feat in three inch pumps, to block the closing doors. She jumped into the elevator as soon as there was enough space to do so, before punching the number 11 on the console. After taking a moment to catch her breath and straighten her suit jacket and pencil skirt, she turned to the only other occupant, frowning.

"Really? You couldn't even bother pushing the 'door open' button?"

The stranger let out an aggrieved sigh that only grated her already stretched nerves. Taking in his casual clothing, lopsided ponytail, and pierced ears, she concluded that even if he did have a role in the corporate conglomerate, chances were high that it was a minor role at best. _More than likely one of the delivery clerks or someone on the janitorial staff_. Her hackles rose even more when she noticed the only other illuminated button on the panel was the button for the third floor. Temari _hated _lazy people.

"Running late?"

Temari only gave a small "hmph" in reply.

"It wouldn't even have been an issue if you just showed up for your meeting on time."

Temari turned back to fix him with a pointed stare while the elevator gave a deep groan and lurched upward.

"You know what, asshole? I've had to deal with too much shit today to take lip from some punk who's too lazy to walk up to the third floor." Temari whipped her head forward, pulled her purse up her shoulder, and crossed her arms, hoping to signify an end to their conversation. Out of the corner of her eye she caught her neighbor roll his eyes dramatically. However, before she could even think of a retort, the elevator stuttered and groaned to a halt.

"Oh no. No, no no! This is just typical!" Temari turned to the panel, noticing that now all the buttons were dark. She slammed the emergency call button and sent a scathing look of warning over her shoulder when she heard the stranger chuckle. She bit back her impending comment when a light feminine voice rang over the intercom.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry for the inconvenience! Is everyone there ok? No emergencies?"

Temari clenched her teeth, but kept her voice level. "No, no emergency, but I was due for a meeting on the eleventh floor with Mr. Hatake at two. Could you notify him of the delay?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry- I see your appointment here, Temari, right? Is there anyone else there with you?"

Temari looked blankly at her unkempt company, "Barely."

Preempting the question, the stranger quickly moved to Temari's side, "Hey Ino, it's Shikamaru. No rush here, tell the guys to take their time." Temari pursed her lips together and backed away from the panel and her unwanted company. It sounded like she would have plenty of time to get angry at 'Shikamaru' later.

"Ugh. You were probably taking another smoke break. Serves you right." Temari smirked at the man's ponytail, imagining the exasperated look on his face. "Well, I'll send the call into maintenance, but you two may have to sit tight for a little while longer. Feel free to give a ring if needed."

"Fine, fine."

The line went dead. Temari crossed to the opposite side of the elevator car, leaned against the wall, and took out her smartphone.

"You're not going to have service in here."

Temari grit her teeth when she saw that he was right and quickly deactivated her screen. She spared a quick glance at her counterpart, who had dropped down to the floor and slumped against the wall in a pile of limbs, before closing her eyes. _Fine, this is _fine_, they say this is good for you, right? Take some time away from digital stimulation, rest your mind, focus on your inner self. Take a mini mental vacation…_

Temari focused on her breathing, and willed her body to relax one muscle at a time. She tried to steer her mind to thoughts of the big extravagant vacations that she always imagined but had never actually taken, the sounds of the ocean, the feeling of sand between her toes… or the soft rustling of leaves as the wind blew through the trees while she rocked on a hammock…

After running through countless travels and an untold stretch of silence, she let out a deep exhale, smiling at her success. _A larger corporation like this one should have an entire maintenance team on hand for minor dilemmas like this, so we shouldn't be stuck here for longer than an hour, so if I was able to kill even just 30 minutes…_

She glanced at her wristwatch: 14:07. "Oh, fuck this."

Shikamaru opened his eyes just in time to watch her rip a leather bound portfolio out of her purse, drop the purse unceremoniously onto the ground, and start pacing back and forth within the confines of the limited space available while reading, her high heels clicking rhythmically with each step.

_Click, click, click, click, click-_

"Could you just… not?"

Temari looked down at him dangerously and snapped her portfolio shut. "What? I'm not even saying anything. Should I just stop breathing? Or stop trying to do _anything _productive with the time that I now get to spend trapped in here with you?"

Shikamaru sighed in exasperation. "Listen woman-"

"My name's Temari."

"Woman- we're stuck in this elevator for at least another 30 minutes. Could you just be less-" he gestured vaguely in her direction.

Temari pinched the bridge of her nose and muttered a Sunan curse under her breath before turning away and continuing her pacing. "Absolutely unbelievable. I'm in this godforsaken city for one day and I've managed to break a heel, get a flat tire in a freaking pothole, end up trapped in an elevator with a feckless wonder-"

"My name's Shikamaru."

"You-" Temari turned and pointed down at him for emphasis, "don't get a name. It's my monologue, start one of your own if you have a problem with it." Temari paused a moment, then two, and then narrowed her eyes when he slowly smirked.

"What's the matter? I thought that you were monologuing."

Temari frowned as she once again tried to regain her train of thought and realized that it was thoroughly derailed. "You did that on purpose."

If possible, his smirk grew larger.

Temari rolled her eyes and returned her attention to her portfolio, skimming over the heavily annotated print outs that she had prepared, and absentmindedly continuing her pacing.

_Click, click, click, click-_

"Could you at least take off your shoes or something?"

Temari let out a slight sound of exasperation before returning her attention to the man propped up against the wall. "Are you kidding me? Take off my shoes?"

"They're loud."

"So are you."

He closed his eyes again and tilted his head back against the wall. "Are you really going to keep pacing for however long we're stuck here?"

"It helps me think."

He looked at her like she was insane- or at least that's what she assumed as it was the same expression that she exchanged with Kankuro five times a day. She put her hand on her hip while he continued to appraise her from his position on the floor. Growing bored with their unspoken battle of wills, Temari broke eye contact to once again look at her papers, only to hear a small sound of frustration from the man. "Fine. How about we make a-" his face contorted as if there were a bad taste in his mouth "-deal."

Temari closed her portfolio and arched an eyebrow interest. On the one hand, he seemed to be one of the most indolent people she had ever met and seemed to have a natural talent for igniting her temper. On the other hand, she was having a surprising amount of fun irritating him, and found his cynicism and wit to be entertaining. Or at least more entertaining than a packet of print outs that she had already read at least 20 times. "I'm listening."

"Well, you're obviously here for a pretty important interview-" he raised his hand as she was about to interject, "ridiculous heels, a lightly worn suit, and you brought a portfolio full of printouts. If you were here for a normal meeting, you'd have simply brought a laptop." He lazily listed off each point on his hand and continued, not waiting for her affirmation. "As I was saying, you're here for a significant interview, so I'll help you out if you agree to just stop being difficult until maintenance gets us moving again."

Temari crossed her arms over her papers and analyzed the man before shaking her head and turning away. "No deal. No offense, but you hardly look old enough to have had an interview before, much less be in a situation to give pointers."

"I'm not as young as you think, you know."

Temari turned her attention back, hearing the sharp edge to his voice and felt startled by the surprising intensity of his gaze. She had practically grown up in her family's corporation and while the experience didn't make for the healthiest childhood, the immersion had imbued her with an incredibly accurate insight into people's character. An insight that had consistently marked the man before her as nothing more than a listless subordinate; someone who would show up and do what they were told, but nothing more. Sure, he could hold a good conversation and was admittedly rather attractive, but neither of those traits were all that useful in a professional setting.

That mental image was completely at odds with the spark of intelligence and the challenge radiating from his eyes, a challenge that Temari felt compelled to answer. However, before she could respond, he broke eye contact and stretched upward, yawning in the proces. "Well, whatever, it's your decision. I just wish that this floor were carpeted or something so I could get some sleep while I'm stuck here."

Temari stared at the man incredulously. She _knew _that she hadn't imagined the penetrating glint in Shikamaru's eyes, but at the same time, she also knew that his lax disposition wasn't just a facade. Not only because of her intuition, but there was the simple fact that there was no reason to build such an elaborate deception. She watched him pick at the inside of his ear and grimaced to herself. _No, definitely not a front._ And yet, recalling the challenge she saw in his eyes, Temari once again felt her interest peak. Besides, she was still stuck in the freaking elevator and it wasn't like she had anything better to do.

"Fine."

He looked back up at her and offered her a small half grin in response. "Finally realizing that we're not about to go anywhere?"

Temari's lips tightened. "Hmm. Counter offer; you 'help'," she formed air quotes around the word to emphasize her skepticism, "me, _and _you manage to be less of a smart ass, and I'll do my best to be quiet for the rest of our time here."

He let out another exasperated sigh. "Fine, fine."

Temari smiled, feeling her confidence return now that she once again felt in control of the conversation. She spread open her portfolio and began to flip through her printouts. "Alright. So I'm interviewing for a position as a program manager for the external manufacturing team-"

"Mmm?"

Temari looked down into his blank stare. "Ugh. This is why I didn't want to do this. Whatever- I could give you the position description but I would basically act as a liaison with other corporations, looking for opportunities for partnerships and collaborations."

"And you _want _to do that?" He said in an incredulous tone.

"Remember- less of a smart ass."

He rolled his eyes. "I only mean that it sounds like a lot of hassle just for a paycheck."

Temari frowned at her portfolio, emblazoned with her family's corporation and murmured, "It's not just about a paycheck."

"What?"

She turned back to him and narrowed her eyes. "Work isn't just about a paycheck, especially at a company like this. Are you even aware that Konoha Incorporated is one of the premiere healthcare corporations in the world? Someone in this role would have the opportunity to influence business decisions and corporate partnerships that influence thousands of people- both employees and patients alike."

"Fine, fine. You don't have to get all worked up about it."

She scoffed in response.

"I didn't realize that this job was that important to you. Besides-" Shikamaru suddenly pursed his lips and grew silent.

"What? You haven't had any problem pissing me off before this, why stop now."

He let out a small laugh that seemed to relax some of the tension in his face. "Fair enough. I guess you just struck me as someone more interested in company politics and the paycheck. Didn't realize you were actually the sentimental type."

She rolled her eyes back at him but remained silent.

"I'm guessing that if you're applying for this kind of job, you probably have a few ideas for new partnerships or experience with similar stuff in the past."

She tensed and once again scrutinized the man in front of her, trying to gauge his motivation for the question. She schooled her voice to remain neutral. "I have a couple ideas I was hoping to pitch during the interviews."

He shrugged his shoulders and turned his face upward toward the paneled ceiling, closing his eyes and absently tugging at one of his earrings, his apparent indifference with the flow of the conversation helping her to also relax.

"-and, I've definitely done similar work in the past. I mean, I could give you a copy of my resume, but I think it would make more sense if I just summarized."

Shikamaru absently nodded in response, still focused on an invisible point on the ceiling.

"Basically, I worked in Suna Enterprises as an intern through college, before taking a full time position as an entry level operations analyst after graduating with a degree in business analytics. I spent most of my time analyzing the cost and revenue ratios of our three main manufacturing sites to optimize our budgeting forecast." She looked back in his direction to see if she needed to elaborate. He had opened his eyes, but was still in the same position as before. She shrugged and continued. "After about five years, our company formed a partnership with another company," she grit her teeth slightly but refused to change her inflection, "and I've been acting as the lead on the integration team ever since."

She turned back to gauge how much of her summary had been absorbed by her audience, only to find him once again blankly looking back at her.

"Sounds good to me."

"And?"

He raised an eyebrow questioningly. "And…?"

Temari barely restrained herself from slamming her palm against her face. "I thought that you were supposed to be helping? All you've done is listen to me talk and make snide comments about my personal motivations."

He shrugged from his position on the floor. "Not really much to say, I'd doubt that you'd get called in for an interview if you weren't qualified. Suna is in the energy sector, right?"

Temari nodded.

"Hmm… it's a little different but overall seems like a good fit. Maybe I can give you tips on how to interact with your interviewers?"

She leveled a skeptical look at him.

"What now?"

"Just trying to gauge how much someone like you would know about a VP and the Director of Business Strategies."

He gave her another half smile. "Only one way to find out."

Temari bit back a retort, as his words _did _make some sense. She flipped to the page with her interview schedule. "My first interview would have been with Mr. Hatake at 2 p.m. Anything you could tell me about him?"

Shikamaru nodded slightly. "That makes sense. He's one of the few lifers at the company- started working with Konoha right out of Uni himself and just climbed up the ladder. He started out in the R&D group before moving over to management about five years back."

"I've heard that he's a genius." Temari heard some of her admiration leak into her voice and she saw Shikamaru frown.

"Tch, he's fine." Shikamaru smirked and looked at her from the side of his eye. "As long as you aren't bothered by his face mask, short attention span, and inability to show up to anything on time."

Temari frowned and crossed her arms. "You guys must get along great."

Shikamaru's smirk widened.

"Anything else?"

Shikamaru cocked his head to the side in thought. "I've heard that he refuses to take on anyone who can't work well with others, so any experience you have working on a team would help. Maybe something from your recent experience on the company integration team?"

Temari once again felt her shoulders tense, but hoped that it would go unnoticed by her present company. "Maybe." She shook her head and decided to move on. "After meeting Mr. Hatake, I was going to meet a few members of the Business Relations team- anything about them?"

"A little," Shikamaru paused, considering his next words before shrugging and continuing, "they seem to be one of the only groups who like the corporate rigamarole." He looked back at her and sighed at her puzzled expression. "You know- the whole 'dress to impress' and 'early bird gets the worm' kind of nonsense. Anyways, I'm sure that you will fit right in."

Although the words could have been offensive, Temari recognized his comment to be driven by observation and, unlike his earlier comments, he didn't seem to intend insult. However, that didn't mean that he was _right_. "There's nothing wrong with maintaining a corporate dress code, especially when interacting with external clients."

"There is when it's uncomfortable to the point of being a distraction. The only people I know who dress in suits and sexy shoes ," He gestured at her own outfit, "are trying to make an excuse to act like they're better than you."

Temari closed her portfolio and crossed her arms over her chest. _Now _he was being offensive. "I see. So instead everyone should walk around in v-neck t-shirts and sneakers?" She gestured back at his own outfit.

He seemed unperturbed by her words. "Why not?"

"Because, like it or not, your appearance reflects your work."

He muttered a few words under his breath that sounded suspiciously like "_-have you been talking to my mother-_" which Temari decided to ignore.

"I don't wear high heels and a skirt suit because I want attention or I think I'm better than you, I wear them because I'm about to go into a room with some of the best businessmen and women in the industry and I get half an hour to convince them that I am the best candidate for the job. Not just because of my background and my experience, but because I'm someone that they would want to represent their company. It plants the thought in someone's mind 'if this person can be this prepared for one half hour meeting, what would they do for an entire project?'" Through her speech, Temari felt her cheeks flush, but otherwise stayed calm.

She was surprised to feel a small amount of pride when Shikamaru gave her a slight nod, quietly acknowledging her response. Not because she doubted herself or her reasoning, but because she recognized that, despite his many obvious character faults, he wasn't the type of person to impress easily. "That makes more sense than anything Ino's ever told me."

"The girl from the intercom?"

Shikamaru distractedly nodded. "Our families have been friends for years, but if I hear her tell me one more time how much better I would look if I dressed like Sasuke Uchiha…"

"Hmm… Uchiha…" Temari flipped through the most recent news articles she had found on Konoha Incorporated, stopping on a recent article featuring a picture of the young entrepreneur that recently left the company for a smaller start up. A picture that looked like it came straight from a business clothing catalogue. "Oh."

Shikamaru looked at her darkly, but Temari merely chuckled. "Oh, lighten up. The man does know how to dress. Although…" Temari looked back at Shikamaru, "I think I'd have to disagree with your friend." Shikamaru's face remained impassive, but Temari thought that she discerned some glimmer of question in his eyes. "All I'm saying is that while the man dresses well, I don't think that his style suits you." Temari saw his eyebrows rise in a faint sign of surprise and felt some heat gather in her cheeks in response. Although she hadn't meant the comment to be suggestive, and it didn't cross any lines of professionalism, she did recognize that it shifted the conversation into murky territory. However, for the first time in a long time, she felt a sense of liberation from consequence. _'Probably from being locked in this elevator for so long,'_. She knew that if she were being completely professional, she would change the subject and continue talking about her upcoming interviews.

"Oh? And what would you recommend?"

She looked back at him and found that he was watching her intently. He was being too bold, she was being too bold, but she also felt a flush of excitement. All at once, her sense of propriety began battling back against the course of their conversation and she felt the need to casually deflect his question. "Well, I can't make any decisions when you're slouched on the floor like that."

Shikamaru sighed before lurching to his feet and sticking his hands into his pockets. Although they were still several feet apart, Temari couldn't help but feel a shift in the dynamic that had nothing to do with the fact that she had forgotten how much taller he was when standing.

_'Oh screw it, what's the worst that could happen, anyway?'_

In answer to his provocation, Temari let herself fully consider him and his appearance. Despite his loose fitting clothes, she could still recognize the athletic lines to his body, and although his ponytail and earrings were wholly unprofessional, he was too casually indifferent towards people and their opinions that their presence was probably more a habit than an attempt to 'be cool'. _'Not that they don't work for him,_' she admitted to herself. "Honestly, I think that you're best bet is business casual. Have you ever heard of the 'rolled up sleeves' look?"

He shook his head slightly and slowly grinned at her. Although he was still leaning against the opposite wall, the room was small enough for Temari to pick up on the smaller details in his appearance that she hadn't been looking for. The slight amber flecks in his eyes, the defined muscles in his forearms, the shape of his lips pulled up at the corners-

Temari looked away and huffed in annoyance at herself, trying to rid her mind of the image of the man in front of her wearing a collared shirt with the cuffs folded up to his elbows and a pair of tailored slacks. "Well, now you know what to tell Ino the next time she compares you to Uchiha."

"Mmm."

She felt rather than saw him take a step towards her and wasn't sure if she welcomed or dreaded the tightened muscles in her abdomen. She opened her mouth, not sure what she was about to say, but suddenly stopped when a knock sounded through the door of the elevator.

"Hey- are you guys still ok in there?"

Temari let out the heavy breath that she had inadvertently been holding, feeling the bubble of their isolation dissolve. She turned to look back at Shikamaru and saw that he had once again retreated to the far wall of the elevator, and was staring blankly at the door. The presence of another person, even on the other side of the door, seemed to break whatever compulsion had been drawing him towards her. She stared at him for one more second and felt a fleeting emotion- disappointment? Confusion?- course through her brain before she settled her nerves and carefully leaned back against the wall across from him.

"Yeah, we're fine. Any progress in getting us out of here?"

They heard a low muttering on the other side of the door. "We think that we found the issue, but in the meantime we're going to work on getting the doors opened to get you guys out of there. We should have you out of there in five to ten minutes."

Shocked by the new timeline, Temari checked her watch and confirmed that she really had spent over half an hour talking to Shikamaru. While the maintenance team walked away, her attention returned back to her companion, who seemed to be ignoring her in favor of analyzing some invisible spot on the wall once again. The abrupt shift in their interaction and the way that she admittedly missed their easy banter sparked her anger all over again. What did she expect? That they would go out for coffee? That she could just start dating one of the contracted support staff and no one would bat an eye?

"So… are you interviewing with anyone else?"

The obvious disappointment she felt at the truth hurt more than she wanted to admit.

"Listen, I'm sure that the information you gave me about Mr. Hatake will help a bit, but I think that I can handle the rest on my own."

His eyes narrowed a bit at her tone before quickly looking away. "You know, you're probably right, but I could probably help you out more than you think. I just wanted-"

She didn't want to hear his explanation and didn't want to risk crossing any more lines. "I'm sure you have the best intentions, but I only have one more interview with Mr. Uzumaki at-" she cut off at the sound of a poorly stifled guffaw that interrupted her hasty attempt to decline his offer and narrowed her eyes, "what's so funny?"

"Sorry, sorry, I'm just having a hard time imagining you having a professional meeting with Naruto."

Temari turned in stared at him "Wait, you're on a first name basis with the Director of Business Development?" She paused a moment before throwing her hands on her hips. "And what the hell is that supposed to mean? I thought that you were trying to not be a smart ass."

Temari pretended not to see Shikamaru roll his eyes.

"Ugh. Well, firstly, Naruto and I went to Uni together and I'm not going to get into details, but let's just say that there were way too many boundaries crossed for me to ever call him Mr-anything ever again. As for your second question- how should I put this?- What are your thoughts on the color orange, bobble head desk ornaments, and ramen?"

Temari stared at him blankly. "What?"

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

"Ugh. _Fine_. So he's a little-" she paused in thought, "unorthodox." She flipped to another page in her portfolio. "It says here that he has generated unprecedented sales growth for your company ever since he was hired and he's mentioned in a large percentage of the company's recent GlassDoor reviews."

Shikamaru shrugged. "That's all true."

Temari paused and frowned in thought. It was one thing when she thought that this guy was a janitorial or minor support staff. However, if he had connections to directors and knew information about company sales and growth…

She crossed her arms and stared down at him imposingly. "What do you do here?"

He frowned and looked away. "I-"

Suddenly, the doors gave a loud groan, slowly prying open to reveal a young man with messy hair and a wolfish grin. "And there we go! Sorry you guys got stuck for so long, it took us a bit of time to figure out the best way to get you two out without causing more damage to the system."

He carefully reached down, offering his hand to Temari to help her out of the elevator car, who pointedly looked at Shikamaru before grabbing her purse from the floor, ignoring the offered hand, and nimbly jumping up onto the floor.

Kiba laughed while Shikamaru slowly climbed to his feet and started exiting the elevator car. "Kami, Shikamaru, I knew that your track record was bad, but that must be some sort of new record. Half an hour and she already can't stand you?"

Shikamaru looked like he was about to respond before he was abruptly cut off by a gruff voice. "Oi, Shikamaru."

Temari turned to the newcomer and almost dropped her purse on the floor.

"Hey Dad."

Well, that explained the eerie resemblance between the two.

"Oh, you were the one stuck in the elevator. Guess that saves me the chore of reprimanding you for blowing off the 2:30 meeting."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes "And I guess that Ino just conveniently forgot to tell you."

"Probably because you conveniently forgot to send her your report for the quarterly business review and she had to cover for you. Also, Kami Shikamaru, I told you before that I don't care what you wear to work, but at least try to not be obvious about it or your mother will find out and have both of our hides."

Temari smirked at Shikamaru's obvious discomfort before frowning at the obvious implications of the new information. It was clear that she had underestimated Shikamaru's role in the company, and that his father held enough power where he was easily recognized by the handful of employees who saw them in the hallway and turned to go elsewhere, but she still felt like there was something that she was missing.

"Yeah, yeah. By the way, Dad, I'm glad that you're here. I wanted to introduce you to Temari. Temari, this is my dad, Shikaku Nara-"

"You mean, Shikaku Nara, the Senior Director of Business Relations?"

Shikaku crossed his arms and nodded at her carefully. "I see that someone's been doing their homework."

Temari tightened her grip on her portfolio before nodding back. "Yes. I'm here interviewing for a position with the external manufacturing team, but if you have some time, I'd like to have a word-"

Shikaku interrupted her with a casual wave of his hand before turning to Shikamaru. "You were in the elevator with her for more than half an hour, right?" At Shikamaru's casual nod, he continued. "Well, as our Principal Business Analyst, what do you think?"

Shikamaru regarded her with a blank expression that had Temari gritting her teeth in frustration. She finally relaxed her grip on her portfolio and looked down, letting her bangs fall into her face, not wanting to look into their eyes when they asked her to leave.

"I think that we should get a conference room and Temari can tell us why she's really here."

Temari's head shot up, her wide eyes meeting Shikamaru's guarded expression before turning to look at Shikaku.

"Very well. I'll reach out to Inoichi and ask him to clear my afternoon."

_—–_

Temari sat at the table, face schooled into a neutral expression, her back straight and shoulders back, and her portfolio spread open before her. Her eyes were trained on Shikaku's profile as he slowly paced back and forth in front of her, expression neutral as he listened to her speak her piece. She didn't even dare turn her attention to Shikamaru who sat several chairs away until she had finished speaking, finding him staring at the ceiling with his hands braced against one another.

"Okay, so let me get this straight."

She silently returned her attention to the eldest Nara.

"Suna, or more specifically, your father-" Temari nodded, recognizing that she had not mentioned that specific detail during her presentation, but no longer being surprised by the man's knowledge- "recently made several sizeable investments in renewable energy, but in doing so he overstretched the budget. When the company supply chain started struggling to meet the volume of demand, the board of directors got involved, forcing your father to step down."

Temari nodded again.

"The board then forged a partnership with a shipping and supply contract company, and while you are bound by a non-disclosure agreement, I think that I can probably guess at most of the contract terms. Especially considering a similar company approached us around the same time making a similar offer."

This, admittedly caught Temari off guard, but she didn't say anything. She had read the non-disclosure agreement extensively and knew that she was still within her rights to be meeting with them right now, but did not want to risk the legality of the situation more than she had to.

"So, you continued working on the integration project and ran the analytics support, but during your report review, you found legacy records that indicated that the shipping and supply company were involved in sabotaging Suna's supply chain from the start, forcing Suna to make the partnership to survive. You emailed a contact in the legal department about your findings, but when you finally met with the head of your legal department, you found that you could no longer digitally access the reports and that you no longer had the evidence necessary to break the partnership."

Temari carefully nodded again, and Shikaku let out a slow exhale.

"Do you think that your contact within the legal department could have destroyed the reports?"

Temari opened her mouth to respond, but didn't get the chance. "No."

Shikaku and Temari both turned to look at Shikamaru, who was focused intently on Temari.

"She doesn't leave things to chance. She applied for a mid level position specifically because the only way she could discuss even minor details of the terms of the non-disclosure agreement was through a job interview, but she also needed to make sure that the meeting was held with someone who had enough weight in the company to act on her findings. She thought that that opportunity was ruined when she missed her interview time, and that was entirely due to circumstances well outside of her control. She knew how important those reports were to her entire company, she wouldn't have approached anyone else about this unless she trusted them completely."

Temari blinked once, amazed that he had analyzed and understood so much of her behavior so clearly before nodding once. "You're right. My brother is my contact from the legal department, and his director has been a family friend for years. My elder brother works in IT and confirmed that the contract company was given full access rights to our data server through the partnership. Someone from their company tracked my online activity and deleted the file. Knowing that there are too many members of their company now involved in the legal department, my younger brother read through the disclosure agreement and helped me figure out the loophole that allowed me to be here today, asking you to help us."

Shikaku sighed in frustration.

"I know that Konoha and Suna have worked together in the past, but there isn't really much that we can do to help you. You still don't have the evidence and even if you did, there's no way that we could get access to legally review the reports through our own legal department… unless…"

He looked at her expectantly while her mouth slowly curved into her natural toothy grin.

"Of course I printed out the reports." Temari pulled a large stack of papers from her purse. "Also, we realized that there is no way for us to give you the reports to analyze unless we were either partnered with or were proposing a partnership with Konoha."

Temari flipped to a new page in her portfolio where a large contract sat. "This has already been signed and pre-approved by Gaara, the CEO-elect of Suna Corp. International, and my younger brother."

Shikaku looked at Shikamaru with a small impressed smile on his lips. "You're right, she doesn't leave anything to chance." He turned back and faced her with that same smile. "So there's no way that we can convince you to actually come work for us?"

—

Temari slowly climbed out of the car and let out a tired exhale, taking a moment to stretch out her limbs and relax after another long flight. She grabbed her briefcase from the car before waving the driver and walking towards the now familiar corporate building before her. However, the door opened before she could reach the handle.

"Hey."

Temari pulled back from the door and put her hand on her hip feeling a familiar warmth creep through her stomach. "Well hey. Glad to see that you do actually own some real clothes."

Shikamaru blushed faintly, reaching up to scratch the back of his head, effectively pulling his tucked shirt out from his slacks. "Yeah, well someone once told me that it's important to dress well to make a good impression on new business associates."

Temari slowly grinned at him, glad to know that yes, he did look good with the sleeves-rolled-up look.

"Nice shoes."

Temari looked down at her ballet flats. "Well, someone told me that sometimes it's better to be practical. Besides, no broken heels. Although, I did make sure to pack some sexy heels " He smiled back at her, and she took a breath, steeling her nerves. "Look, I was hoping to run into you- I have a business meeting with my counterpart for the Konoha-Suna integration team, but I just wanted to-"

"No need to thank me." He said quickly, before walking past her.

She turned to watch him leave, disappointed, but knowing that she shouldn't have expected anything more. He had helped her more than she could have imagined; Suna was finally free from their legal obligations to Akatsuki Limited, and the partnership with Konoha Incorporated was looking better than either business thought possible. She sighed then turned to continue on into the building.

"Aren't you coming?"

She stopped and turned to look at him, her face forming the question for her. "I figured that if we're going to be working together, we could have our first meeting somewhere a little more… relaxed."

She felt her jaw drop open. "Wait, you mean…," suddenly she frowned and rolled her eyes. "Ino?"

Shikamaru rubbed his face. "Ino. Sorry, I didn't realize that she didn't tell you or I would have messaged you sooner."

Temari let out a small laugh. "That girl is ridiculous. Well at least we already have each other's contact information and can just schedule things directly from now on."

"Yeah, thank goodness, I already have to deal with the fact that she has my mother's contact information. Here, let me get your bag-"

"It's my bag, why would I need you to carry it?"

Shikamaru pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled slowly. "Look, I was just trying to be polite-"

"-Then you should ask if I want help with it first, idiot-"

"But feel free to carry your bag eight blocks if that's what you want."

"Eight Blocks?! Where are we even going?"

Shikamaru looked like he wanted to mutter something before suddenly stopping and looking to the side. "Well, I just thought that after flying in you might be hungry for something a bit better than airplane food, and I know this restaurant…"

Temari stopped alongside him and looked at him carefully. "Are you asking me out on a date?"

Shikamaru swallowed nervously, before meeting her eye. "Well, I was reading through the company policy, and while workplace relationships aren't expressly forbidden, it shouldn't really matter because you don't technically work for Konoha, so…yeah."

Temari maintained her neutral expression before slowly feeling a smile unfurl across her face. "Sounds like a plan to me."


End file.
